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Theophile Alexandre Steinlen
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Theophile Alexandre Steinlen
Pseudonyms include : ‘Treelan’, ‘Pierre’, 'Petit Pierre', and ’Jean Caillou’.
Artist, Illustrator, Painter, Muralist, Printmaker.
Born in Lausanne, 1859; died in Paris, 1923.
A Swiss of German descent, one of a family of artists, Steinlen came to Paris in 1882 and became a French citizen in 1901. From the very outset of his French sojourn he became intimately associated with the special bohemian and politically liberal atmosphere of Mont-martre.
Over the course of his artistic career Steinlen created over 380 original lithographs and 115 etchings, his use of line and strong design techniques led to the creation of some of the most famous posters of the Art Nouveau movement. These include, Tournee du Chat Noir (1896), La Rue (1896) and Lait pur Sterilise (1894). His first lithographs (illustrating songs by the famous cabaretier Aristide Bruant) date from 1884, his first posters (an art form in which he had particular success) from 1885, his first etchings from 1898
His style, though personal and distinctive, was influenced at various times by his illustrious contemporaries Degas, Vallotton, Toulouse-Lautrec, Rodin, Forain and Munch. His subject matter includes street life, political propaganda and studies of his beloved cats; the contributions to L'Assiette almost always reveal him as an artiste engage, one committed to rooting out the inequities and complacencies of society.
In terms of public visibility, Steinlen was the Norman Rockwell of the 1890's and as a prolific illustrator he created drawings for nearly thirty magazines and newspapers. His images are marked by originality, simplicity, and compassion which make them alluring and engaging. Inspired by daily life, he often used his own family in his poster designs. Many of his images feature his daughter, Collette, at various ages.
Cats were also a regular theme in Steinlen’s art, and perhaps no other Steinlen imagery is as strongly associated with his name today as are his studies of cats in which he captured their many activities and moods . In 1900 Steinlen published a series of cartoons and drawings of cats (Des Chats). The quintessential Steinlen image remains his Tournee du Chat Noir (1896) originally produced as an advert for the cabaret/bar of the same name.
In 1881, at the age of twenty, Theophile Alexandre Steinlen moved from his native home in Lausanne Switzerland to Paris -the heart and soul of late 19th C Europe- where he became a most highly celebrated and influential artist in both the French Belle Epoque and Art Nouveau era. Like many of his contemporaries Steinlen practiced his craft as a self-taught artist (Steinlen’s only formal training as an artist was received while working at a lithographic firm). Starting out, and new to Paris he was quick to seek companionship among those like minded artist whom frequented the cafes and cabarets of the artistic bohemia Montmartre where he soon befriended many of the political and artistic leaders of Belle Epoque Paris.
Once establishing himself as a marketable illustrator, Steinlen’s penetrating studies and evocative line work fast became effective selling points for the inexpensive weekly newspapers and four color stone lithographic journals popular at the time. Steinlen’s services were soon widely sought after by the publishers and editors of leading weekly newspapers and journals of the period.
His drawings for over 30 magazines (some of which he founded) from 1882 to 1913, as listed in the catalogue raisonne of his works, occupy 35 large pages of small type. He also did murals and book illustrations.
Steinlen’s images received extensive publication. On numerous occasions Steinlen’s illustrations appeared alongside the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, Cappiello, Alphonse Mucha, Emile Zola, Herman Paul, Felix Vallotton, and others. Steinlen was as a prized illustrator for popular weekly journals such as Felix Juven’s Le Rire and L’Assiette Au Beurre.
Steinlen’s illustrations for L’Assiette were formidable and his early contributions to the journal were integral to it’s success. Although the reputation of a few young contributors to L'Assiette, such as Juan Gris, eventually became even more lofty than Steinlen's, there is no doubt that he was the magazine's most honored artist at the time of its creation and that his adherence helped to foster and sustain it. The very first page (cover) of No. 1 (Apr. 4, 1901) was by Steinlen, and his work appears frequently through No. 390 (Sept. 19, 1908).
In addition to the large amount of drawings and lithographs he published with more mainstream journals Stainlen also produced work for more radical press publications like, Pere Peinard, Les Temps Nouveaux and La Chambard. In order to avoid political repercussions those pieces which dealt with strong social content Steinlen’s work was often published under pseudonyms such as, ‘Treelan’, ‘Pierre’, 'Petit Pierre', and ’Jean Caillou’
Additionally, from 1891 – 1900 Steinlen illustrated prolifically for the celebrated Parisian weekly Gil Blas Illustre. During his tenure as head illustrator for Gil Blas Steinlen’s artistic stylings were perfected in his poignant social impressions of small revealing moments which recorded la comedie humaine: abandoned children feeding a stray cat (cat imagery would later become Steinlen’s trademark); a drunken husband returning home; the start of a love affair; visiting a brothel; a thief’s remorse; construction workers viewing a funeral, etc. Transformed by Steinlen’s social conscience, sly satire and singular perception of human nature, such everyday incidents offer a revealing glimpse, not only of fin-de-siecle Paris, but of the passions and concerns that animate all people.
Throughout his artistic career Steinlen’s art continued to explore the life of the poor and humble. Known as “the Millet of the Streets”, Steinlen’s influence was vast. Among other artists both Toulouse-Lautrec and the young Picasso paid direct homage to his art.
Bibliography :
- Appelbaum, Stanley: French Satirical Drawings from L'Assiette au Beurre. Dover, 1978.
-Bailly-Herzberg « Dictionnaire De L'estampe En France 1830 – 1950 » Paris, 1985.
-E. de Crauzat :L'Œuvre gravé et lithographie de Steinlen, Société de propagation des livres d'art, Paris, 1913.
- E. de Crauzat : L'Œuvre gravé et lithographie de Steinlen. Catalogue descriptif et analytique suivi d'un essai de Bibliographyaphie et d'iconographie de son œuvre raisonné, Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, San Francisco, 1983
-Claude Roger Marx, in : Dict. de la peinture mod., Hazan, Paris, 1954
-F. Jourdain : Alexandre Steinlen, Cercle d'art, Suisse, 1954
-Maurice Pianzola : Théophile Steinlen, Rencontre, Lausanne, s. d - Klaus Schrenk : Catalogue de l'exposition Steinlen, Kuns-thalle, Berlin, 1978
-Réjane Bargiel, Christophe Zagrodzki : Steinlen affichiste : Catalogue raisonné, Éditions du Grand Pont, Lausanne, 1986.
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